What does בָּעַל (bāʿal) mean in the Bible?
בָּעַל (bāʿal): Mastery semantically grounds marriage; the husband exercises proprietary dominion over the wife in patriarchal ideology
Hebrew · H1166
בָּעַל
To be master ; hence, to marry
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בָּעַל H1166
Pronunciation bāʿal
What does בָּעַל (bāʿal) mean in the Bible?
בָּעַל (bāʿal): Mastery semantically grounds marriage; the husband exercises proprietary dominion over the wife in patriarchal ideology
Full entry for בָּעַל (H1166) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H1166?
The BSB source-word alignment has 16 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include marries (3), . . . (1), am your master (1), and be her husband (1), Beulah (1).
Where does בָּעַל (bāʿal) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 20:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (7), Deuteronomy (3), Jeremiah (2), 1 Chronicles (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It marries 3× Deuteronomy 24:1, Proverbs 30:23, Isaiah 62:5
. . . 1× Deuteronomy 22:22
am your master 1× Jeremiah 3:14
and be her husband 1× Deuteronomy 21:13
Beulah 1× Isaiah 62:4
by marrying 1× Malachi 2:11
have ruled over us 1× Isaiah 26:13
is a married 1× Genesis 20:3
of her who has a husband 1× Isaiah 54:1
ruled 1× 1 Chronicles 4:22
was a husband 1× Jeremiah 31:32
will be His bride 1× Isaiah 62:4
will marry you 1× Isaiah 62:5
your husband 1× Isaiah 54:5
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 20:3 בְּעֻ֥לַת to is a married Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular construct Deuteronomy 21:13 וּבְעַלְתָּ֔הּ to and be her husband Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | third person feminine singular Deuteronomy 22:22 בְעֻֽלַת־ to . . . Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular construct Deuteronomy 24:1 וּבְעָלָ֑הּ to marries Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular 1 Chronicles 4:22 בָּעֲל֥וּ to ruled Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Proverbs 30:23 תִבָּעֵ֑ל to marries Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular Isaiah 26:13 בְּעָל֥וּנוּ to have ruled over us Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural | first person common plural Isaiah 54:1 בְעוּלָ֖ה to of her who has a husband Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular Isaiah 54:5 בֹעֲלַ֙יִךְ֙ to your husband Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | second person feminine singular Isaiah 62:4 בְּעוּלָ֑ה to Beulah Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 20:3
Aligned rows 16
Books represented 7
Genesis 1 Deuteronomy 3 1 Chronicles 1 Proverbs 1 Isaiah 7 Jeremiah 2 Malachi 1
Source forms
בְעוּלָ֖ה 1x ḇə·‘ū·lāh Isaiah 54:1
בְּעוּלָ֑ה 1x bə·‘ū·lāh Isaiah 62:4
בָּעֲל֥וּ 1x bā·‘ă·lū 1 Chronicles 4:22
בְּעָל֥וּנוּ 1x bə·‘ā·lū·nū Isaiah 26:13
בֹעֲלַ֙יִךְ֙ 1x ḇō·‘ă·la·yiḵ Isaiah 54:5
בְּעֻ֥לַת 1x bə·‘u·laṯ Genesis 20:3
בְעֻֽלַת־ 1x ḇə·‘u·laṯ- Deuteronomy 22:22
בָּעַ֣לְתִּי 1x bā·‘al·tî Jeremiah 3:14
Parsing patterns
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular 2x Proverbs 30:23, Isaiah 62:4
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular 2x Jeremiah 3:14, Jeremiah 31:32
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular 2x Isaiah 54:1, Isaiah 62:4
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular construct 2x Genesis 20:3, Deuteronomy 22:22
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | third person feminine singular 1x Deuteronomy 21:13
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 1x Malachi 2:11
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular 1x Deuteronomy 24:1
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | second person feminine singular 1x Isaiah 62:5
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Mastery semantically grounds marriage; the husband exercises proprietary dominion over the wife in patriarchal ideology
Strong's H1166
Lexical occurrences 16 verses Word forms 2 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Isaiah 62:1-5 Source Gloss
to be master ; hence, to marry
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Mastery semantically grounds marriage; the husband exercises proprietary dominion over the wife in patriarchal ideology
to be master; hence, to marry BDB: marry Usage: have dominion (over), be husband, marry(-ried, × wife).
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 10
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 8×
Participle passive Deut 22:22 · Gen 20:3 · Isa 54:1 · Isa 62:4 4×
Perfect Jer 3:14 · Jer 31:32 · 1Chr 4:22 3×
Imperfect Isa 62:5 1×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 2×
Imperfect Isa 62:4 · Prov 30:23 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to take a wife in marriage, establishing spousal relationship and dominion
Showing 1 selected witness from 16 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain